


Open books and dumb assess

by ItsEmbarrassing



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bonding, Boys In Love, Confessions, Idiots in Love, M/M, POV First Person, POV Hinata Shouyou, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsEmbarrassing/pseuds/ItsEmbarrassing
Summary: I like to believe I kept my cool. At least, Kageyama didn’t reprimand me for acting strange. However, my mind went into overdrive. He liked me. He liked me, right? That had to be it. How likely was it for me to misinterpret so many signs? Don’t answer!orHinata starts picking up signals that Kageyama might like him after watching a shoujo anime with his little sister, and he doesn't know what to do with himself.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Open books and dumb assess

We were taking a break from practice the first time I noticed it. We had just finished a passing drill, the day was hot and humid. I dragged my feet to the entrance of the gym, taking in the breeze that came from outside, and took a long sip of my water bottle. Kageyama settled next to me, his eyes nearly burning a hole through my throat. Him staring was nothing unusual, but that Monday I actually stopped what I was doing and stared back. That’s when it got weird.

He looked away and _blushed_.

Did he finally understand that staring is not cool? Wait, was he embarrassed? The way he quickly averted his eyes as soon as I caught him… it was oddly familiar. For a moment, I couldn’t remember why; then, the image of a cute anime girl doing the very same thing came to my mind. This situation was similar to a shoujo anime that Natsu forced me to watch during the weekend. One where the girl was caught staring by the guy she liked.

I choked. Kageyama’s eyes came back to me, not shy, but angry. “Dumbass. Drink slowly!” He scolded while patting my back.

“Sorry.” I said out of habit. My brain cells were all in use, focused on the way his large palm pressed against my shirt, leaving warm traces behind. Again, him touching was nothing unusual either. In fact, I started to think of all the times touching was unnecessary, but nonetheless expected from him.

Frequent touches, staring, blushing… did he… did he like me?

“Oi, Hinata!” Kageyama’s voice snapped me out of my trance. “What are you spacing out for?”

“Sorry!” I repeated, this time a bit frantic. This couldn’t be it. No. Of course not. I was wrong. I’m often wrong! Tsukishima always says I don’t know how to read the situation. That’s it. I’m reading too much into some glances and back pats.

By the time I cooled down, Kageyama had opened some distance between us, and was calmly drinking from his own bottle. He didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer. He probably didn’t care why I was spacing out as long as I didn’t screw up during practice. Therefore, I fixated extra hard in volleyball for the rest of the day. If my thoughts didn’t diverge, then I wouldn’t act weird, and everything would be fine.

As we were going home, Kageyama and I silently walking together as usual, my mind drifted back to what happened earlier. What if I wasn’t reading too much into it? What if Kageyama did like me? How would I even answer if that was the case?

“Stop staring at me, runt.” He said, his eyes focused somewhere down the street. Ops.

“Sorry.” I replied much too quickly.

“What’s wrong with you? You are awfully apologetic today.” Then, under his breath. “I thought you’d scream at me for accusing you of staring.”

“It’s nothing! It’s nothing, really!” I waved my hands, emphasizing my point. “I’m thinking about an anime I watched with my little sister, that’s all!” That wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the full truth either, but I’m a bad liar, so I have to rely on half-truths.

“Huh.” Kageyama seemed to have bought my excuse, as he quieted down after that. We stopped a minute or so later, where we always parted ways. “Take care.” was all he said before turning the corner and leaving me behind. I always heard it as a treat: _take care of yourself, scrub, or you might miss practice, runt, and you can’t afford to miss practice, idiot, because you suck_. That night, though, I thought I heard fondness in his voice.

* * *

For the rest of the week, I was on the lookout for clues. Before I fried any brain cells thinking about what kind of answer I would give Kageyama, I wanted to know for sure if I was right. I may or may not have looked up on the internet _how to tell if someone likes you_. Sue me! I never had a girlfriend before. Or a boyfriend, for that matter. No one ever confessed to me. It’s not like I had the experience required to identify this kind of thing. Anyway!

To my luck, Kageyama is worse than me when it comes to social tact. He clearly never got the memo about staring being impolite, and once I started paying more attention to it, I realized that he’d do it all the time. Each time I caught him, he turned away quickly, sometimes blushing.

If he did like me, I concluded by Wednesday, as we were eating lunch together and his knee lightly brushed mine, then he hadn’t noticed it himself. This might sound arrogant coming from me, but Kageyama is simple minded. If he was aware of the signals he’s been sending, he would most likely shut them off, and hang around me all stiff and tongue tied.

On Saturday, I tested out this technique I read online about mirrorwing. We were studying together during lunch break, sitting across from each other. Kageyama was resting his chin on his hand as he filled his homework sheet, and I followed suit from the other side of the table. It felt a bit awkward since now my dominant hand was busy holding my face up, but I tried reading some vocabulary and concentrating on copying him. Once I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, I dropped my hand, grabbed my pencil and placed my other arm on the table. It wasn’t a natural move, but I made it deliberately, waiting for Kageyama’s response.

His eyes were raised for a split of second, taking in my change of stance, and then he let go of his own chin and rested his arm on the table next to mine.

I like to believe I kept my cool. At least, Kageyama didn’t reprimand me for acting strange. However, my mind went into overdrive. He liked me. He liked me, right? That had to be it. How likely was it for me to misinterpret so many signs? Don’t answer!

* * *

Sunday mornings were boring. They meant no school and, sometimes (like today), no practice. It then striked me: they also meant no Kageyama. How long have I felt this way? Why is it that we spend the whole week together, but come the weekend I wish we had plans? All week I’ve been bad-mouthing Kageyama for being clueless about his own feelings. Am I just as stupid?

I got dressed mindlessly and unplugged my phone from the charger. By impulse, I opened the email app. Kageyama’s name was there, on the list of most recent contacts. We didn’t text much, but I couldn’t fight the urge to send him something. Maybe hitting him up would squelch the swoop feeling at the bottom of my stomach.

_**Subject:** morning!!!  
good morning, Bakeyama!!!_

Pushing my phone into my pocket, I left my room and went into the bathroom. I was grabbing my toothbrush when I heard a _ping_. I wasted no time pulling the phone back out and reading the incoming text.

_**Subject:** Re: morning!!!  
Good morning._

Wow! Kageyama really has a way with words, doesn’t he? That idiot! He could at least sound a bit more interested. Maybe an exclamation mark? An emoji? Something!

_**Subject:** what’s up?  
what are you up to today?_

Did that sound desperate? Hopefully not. When the recipient insists on being aloof even over text, it’s hard to make conversation.

_**Subject:** Re: what’s up?  
Nothing much. Studying volleyball recordings._

A pause, and then:

_**Subject:** Re: what’s up?  
Wanna join?_

My heart skipped a beat. _Gwah!_ Was he inviting me over? I’ve never been to Kageyama’s (in fact, I didn’t even know his address) so this was unexpected, but… not unwelcome. It made me feel funny inside, anxiousness mixed with excitement, kind of like it feels before a match.

_**Subject:** Re: what’s up?  
Mother’s making curry._

A third text in a row? From Kageyama? That’s rare. He was probably just as nervous as I was, so I felt the need to reply as fast as I could, before he could ramble and embarrass himself - that is, if Kageyama is even capable of rambing.

_**Subject:** sounds good!!  
sure! sounds good!!_

After I hit send, I re-read his messages, my toothbrush long forgotten. I agreed to visit him. Kageyama. On a day-off. To hang out. Sure, we’d be watching volleyball, but the more I thought about it, the closer my stomach seemed to get to the floor.

_**Subject:** Re: sounds good!!  
Ok. I can pick you up at our usual intersection._

Before my thoughts could turn into the inevitable mess they’d be, I heard someone outside the bathroom.

“Nii-chan! I want to pee!”

“I’ll be out in a minute!” I screamed back, part of my sentence muffled by the toothbrush.

Having Natsu there to hurry me up was actually nice. I got ready to go out way faster than I would if left on my own devices. I was about to head out when my mother poked her head around the corner.

“Shoyo!” She called. “Are you leaving?”

I stopped midway putting my shoes on. Usually I tell my mother everything in a heartbeat, but today, somehow, my plans felt… private. “Yeah, un. I’ll study over at Kageyama’s.”

“Oh.” If she was surprised, that’s all she let on. “Have fun! Are you coming back for dinner?”

“Yup! I’m going!” I announced without turning my face. I had the feeling my cheeks were colored red.

* * *

The ride was not nearly long enough. My heart didn’t really calm down on the way, but broke new records once Kagayama came into view. He looked casual, cool and collected, nothing like how I felt. I wondered again whether this was just a big misunderstanding. Surely inviting your crush over would get anyone nervous?

Our eyes met. “Hey!” I greeted, slowing down the bike.

Kageyama gulped. “Hey. My house is not far.”

I nodded, self-conscious. If there is one thing I hate, it’s awkward silences. We stayed like that, avoiding eye contact for a moment, before I decided that nuh-uh, we’re better than this. I had a decent idea of which direction to go, based on the way Kageyama went after our goodbyes, so it was enough to get a head start.

It took Kageyama a couple of seconds to realize I bolted.

“Oi, dumbass!” He shouted, following suit. “You don’t even know where you’re headed!”

“Then I guess you should catch up, slowpoke!” I grinned. That had the effect I was hoping for: the ice was broken. Plus, Kageyama wasn’t joking when he said he lived close by. Shortly after that, he stopped abruptly in front of a gate, most likely on purpose to make me miss it.

“I win.” He said, matter of factly.

“I didn’t know where the finish line was.”

“You brought this upon yourself, stupid.” Kageyama pushed the gate open, gesturing for me to come in. He repeated the motion when we reached the front door, letting me in before gently closing it behind us. “I’m home!”

“Sorry for the intrusion!” I chimed in. Somewhere far inside the house, I heard a faint “welcome” along with sounds from the kitchen. My senses were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of food. “Wow! Is that lunch?”

“Yeah. My mother’s curry is pretty good.” Kageyama sounded just a little proud.

“I can’t wait to try it!” I followed Kageyama into the living room. “Natsu can’t handle spices yet, so mom always makes mild curry.”

“Huh. Make yourself at home.” He said, pointing to some pillows near the tv. “I’ll set up the video.”

“What are we studying today?” I asked, sitting on the pillow on the far right.

“Mostly olympics. I’ve been monitoring Brazil’s team. I think… they’ll probably win the next one.” He answered, fidgeting with the DVD player.

“Oh yeah, I heard they’re awesome!”

“You never seen them play though?”

“Not really. My family doesn’t follow the olympics closely.”

“Pay attention to their back attacks.” Kageyama pointed out, approaching me with a remote in hands. Instead of sitting on the far left (as I expected him to) he picked the pillow closest to mine, our legs barely touching. It reminded me of lunch, and it made my chest go squeeze.

“Hello!” Someone called from the corner of the room. I looked up to who I assumed to be Kageyama’s mother. I started moving, but she waved her hand at me. “No need to get up! I’ll get you both drinks. Chocolate milk sounds good?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Kageyama answered, and his mother disappeared back into the kitchen. Maybe the social awkwardness is biological? “Oi, it’s starting.” He caught my attention, and I realized that he had pressed play at one point while I was distracted.

We fell into a comfortable silence. Sometimes Kageyama would change the speed of the recording so we could see things in slow motion, sometimes he’d comment on a play, sometimes I’d cheer after a good rally.

“Sorry for the wait!” Kagemom announced as she came out of the kitchen. “You must be Hinata, right?” She said, placing a couple of cups on a nearby table. I nodded enthusiastically. “Tobio talks a lot about you.”

“M-Mom!” Aforementioned idiot interjected. Kagemom laughed.

“He calls me mom whenever he’s flustered.” She hid her smile behind her hand. “I’m just _teasing_ , Tobio.”

At that moment, I decided I liked Kagemom. A lot. I didn’t even try to contain my laughter, which only riled up Kageyama more.

“Mom! Leave us alone!”

“Oh.” She said, drawing back. Then, she smirked. “Sure. I’ll leave you two alone.”

As his mother retreated into the kitchen, Kageyama let out a long groan.

“Wow.” I said, and Kageyama’s eyes fixed on me. “Your mom is awesome!”

He sounded skeptical next. “You’re saying. She gets a kick out of embarrassing me.”

“She’s just _teasing_ , Tobio.” I repeated her words, then stopped. Kageyama and I were never on a first name basis. It sounded too forward, even as a joke, to call him Tobio. It’s strange to even think of him as Tobio. Tobio. Tobio. Yeah. Weird. Wait, where were we?

“It’s fine.” Kageyama broke through my thoughts somehow. “I don’t mind.”

He didn’t mind… what? Oh. Oh. I will most likely use this against you one day, _Tobio_.

“Right! You can resume the game now!” I pointed out, eager to get out of the awkward mood. Kageyama nodded, pressed play on the remote, and we went back to mostly silence with a sprinkle of casual chat. It didn’t take long for Kagemom to call us from the kitchen, announcing lunch was ready, and we sat together around the table.

“This tastes amazing!” I said with a mouthful of curry, this time directly to the person that deserved praise. She smiled bashfully, Kageyama scolding me in the background for speaking with my mouth full.

“If I’d known Tobio would have a friend over, I would have made something fancier!”

“Nothing, your curry is great.” Interrupted her son, pride showing on his tone. For some reason, I thought it was cute that he treasured his mother’s cooking like this. He looks serious and angry from the outside, and sure, he is that way on the inside too, but he’s definitely the doting type.

“I would at least have your father and sister eat with us. Why, how long has it been since you’ve brought someone over? Middle school? Elementary school?”

“He eats by himself at lunch. When we don’t have practice, that is.” I added. I omitted the part where I started showing up to have lunch with him even on days we didn’t have practice. I like Kagemom, but our relationship is not there yet.

“I’d expect nothing less from my lone wolf. I’m sure you noticed, but he took after his father.”

I pictured a Kagedad. An even bigger, scarier guy, scolding his son for his terrible math grades. Yeah, I’m lucky he had plans elsewhere.

* * *

After lunch, we washed the dishes together (actually, I dried them) then hit the park. The plan, according to Kageyama, was to practice passes. He also seems like the kind of guy to always have a volleyball with him, though I guess I can’t judge.

The sun was still high on the sky, beaming down at us at full force, making us sweaty and smelly in no time. The advantage of being in a boys athletic club, though, is that you become completely immune to body odor.

“Phew!” I exclaimed, dropping to the ground. The grass was cold and welcoming. “I’m spent.”

Kageyama’s shadow was still looming over me. I was about to tell him to just lay down, too, when he said, “wait here” and rushed down the park. I was too comfortable to care. I thought maybe he had to poop or something. It happens. I closed my eyes and let myself drift off for a bit.

“Oi.” Kageyama was suddenly sitting next to me. Did I fall asleep? “Eat this.”

He handed me a popsicle. So he is the doting type! “Thank you!” I smiled broadly.

“Don’t mention it.” He answered, then looked out. From where we were, we could see the children playing in the nearby playground. Their excited screams could barely reach us.

We stayed like this, me on my back, him sitting up, both eating quietly. Then, something unusual happened: Kageyama broke the silence.

“Are we friends?”

What kind of question was that? “What kind of question is that?”

“My mother called you ‘a friend’.”

“Huh.” I put my popsicle down for a moment, pushing myself up. “More like frenemies, I guess.”

“Frenemies?”

“Tanaka-senpai taught me this one.” I’m very proud of my vast vocabulary, thank you very much. “It’s like rivals, but friendly. Friendly rivals.”

“Friendly… rivals.” Kageyama’s eyes met mine again, and I was instantly frozen, popsicle long forgotten. There was something there - a pull, a _snap_ \- that kept me staring back. It was like when a toss is just right, and the ball fits under your palm perfectly. Somewhere inside me a lock clicked, and the previously locked away animal fled from its cage.

“I like you”. What can I say? I’m an open book. And, considering I’m talking to Kageyama, this book needs to have pictures. “More than a teammate. More than a friend, a frenemy, whatever you wanna call it. The _uwaah!_ kind of like.”

I could see Kageyama’s single brain cell processing the information behind his eyes, redness spreading through his face like a loading bar filling up. Finally, he lashed out. “Huh? What do you- Are you messing with me?!” He yelled, pulling at my hair like usual.

“I’m not! I’m not! I’m super serious!” I retorted, grabbing his wrist and pushing it away. His hold wasn’t as strong as a I expected, which left us in a strange state of barely holding hands. I didn’t let go, even though I could feel my cheeks burning. “I know you like me, too.”

Kageyama yanked his arm from my grasp but made no further movements to distance himself, which I took as a good sign. He looked away, but I kept my eyes trained on his face. To take my eyes off him would be to lose; I had nothing to be embarrassed of. Not of liking him. Not of admitting out loud.

“Listen, nothing has to change.” I started, and his eyes found their way back to mine. “As long as I can play volleyball with you, I’m happy.”

“Oh.” He mumbled, but at least he didn’t avert his gaze. His eyes were getting clearer by the second. _He believes me now_. I held back a smile, waiting for him to continue. “I guess I’m happy too.”

My stomach did that swoop again. Seeing Kageyama all flustered filled me with boldness. “What’s that? You’re in love with me?”

“Stupid! I didn’t say that! I didn’t say that at all!”

I laughed, an open and honest laugh, and Kageyama took advantage of my brief moment of distraction to forcefully wrap his arms around me. Our legs were still side by side on grass, our torsos uncomfortably twisted. It had to be the worst hug of my life; his muscles were tense against mine and my arms were down, useless. Still, the way he squished my face against his chest, his heart beating like a drum in my ears, completely overwhelmed me.

“Shut up.” He all but whispered. My own heart became light, then it was floating, then it was flying, wings smacking my ribcage and making me breathless. I couldn’t speak if I wanted to.

The children kept screaming in the background, but Kageyama and I were frozen in time. When his grasp loosened, the oxygen flowed back to my brain, and the first coherent thought I had was _at least I was the one who confessed. I win!_ Kageyama may have been reading my thoughts (or I might have accidentally said it out loud), because he ruffled my hair before pulling back, saying. “No, we’re even.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll beat that flying imagery to a pulp if you allow me.
> 
> Thanks to my beta for marking every single word that was "too hard for Hinata to use".


End file.
